Rental and owner’s ad-listings to be the focus for realty portals in 2017

NEW DELHI: Owing to demonetisation and dipping sales, the ad-listings posted by developers in real estate portals have decreased while those being posted by owners have increased in the last few months. Portals are now trying to encash this new development and are creating business strategies around it.

“The number of ads from builders has witnessed some decline due to de-monetization, and general slackness of the entire industry. However we are witnessing a substantial growth in owner’s listings on our platform,” says Manish Sinha, Head, QuikrHomes.

Ads from owners now contribute close to 40% of overall listings on Magicbricks. “Our efforts are aimed at aggregating every single buyer and seller on our platform and in making Magicbricks the go-to platform for property needs,” says Sudhir Pai, CEO, Magicbricks.

Rental listing to be the focus too

Post demonetization, there has been an increase in rental demand driven largely by the uncertainty surrounding the real estate industry and outlook on interest rates. This has made portals like Magicbricks and IndiaProperty to plan strategies specifically catering to this segment.

“The rental market as such is far bigger in terms of volume than the ‘buy’ market. Unsurprisingly, it accounts for over 50% of the overall activity on Magicbricks. Yes, rentals would be an area of focus for us, we are actively working at going deeper into this market and in building new services for rental seekers as well as for landlords,” says Pai.

IndiaProperty is piloting an assisted rentals solution in this space. “We are looking to invest resources in this segment besides looking for suitable acquisition opportunities,” says Ganesh Vasudevan, CEO, Indiaproperty.com.